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Nottingham Forest announced the signing of Leo Bonatini on loan from Wolves until the end of the season in a deal that has slipped under the radar somewhat, but there is no doubt that the frontman can use his memorable experience of the Championship to full effect. (via the BBC)

What can he offer Martin O’Neill upfront?

The Brazilian striker has only ever had a short taste of England’s second tier, having joined Wolves on a season-long loan deal from Al Hilal in the summer of 2017, before swapping the Championship for the Premier League following promotion.

However, in just a single season, the 24-year-old proved that he can be a deadly Championship marksman. Bonatini scored 12 goals in 29 starts under Nuno Espirito Santo as Wolves won the league, and Forest will certainly be hoping that he can replicate those numbers in the second half of the season.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

Bonatini is an excellent frontman with a clever striker’s brain, always knowing where he needs to be in the penalty box and always able to finish with aplomb. His game is similar to that of a Glenn Murray type, in which he lacks pace and athleticism, but his movement and intelligence allows him to be a yard ahead of the game.

Whose place will he take?

Well, 14-goal Lewis Grabban hasn’t scored since the beginning of December, so whilst he had an amazing start to the campaign, he looks to have tailed off. He started on the bench in the recent 3-1 win over Wigan, whilst Daryl Murphy started up front in his place – however, the Irishman only has three league goals this season.

In that respect, Bonatini should and could go straight into the starting lineup, and will hopefully provide the kick up the backside that Grabban needs to rekindle his impressive form from the early months of the campaign.

[ad_pod ]Loads of Crystal Palace fans have been running the rule over their rather comfortable win against Fulham, and they’re full of praise for the colossal Mamadou Sakho.Saturday was just about the perfect day as far as Roy Hodgson is concerned, as the boss watched his side comfortably dispatch of Fulham while several of the teams around the Eagles dropped points.It was a really professional performance from the hosts at Selhurst Park, as for all Fulham’s defensive deficiencies they are more than capable of producing chances that Aleksandar Mitrovic will bury.Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!The visitors hardly got a sniff though, and that was mainly down to the excellent work of Sakho.The 29-cap French international is fast becoming a cult hero in South London, and it’s not hard to see why he was handed the captain’s armband at PSG aged just 17, as his commanding presence has transformed the Eagles’ back line.The 28 year-old won three aerial duels, made two interceptions, eight clearances and also completed a remarkable 98 per cent of his passes, per Whoscored.It is this unique mixture of technical quality and physical dominance that makes Sakho such a superb defender, and the Twitter reactions down below are falling further in love with the former Liverpool ace…

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Liverpool returned to winning ways on Saturday with a convincing 3-0 victory over Bournemouth – a game in which Jurgen Klopp continued to show faith in Naby Keita despite his poor showing against West Ham United prior to the weekend.

What’s the word?

The summer signing from RB Leipzig has struggled to live up to the huge expectation which surrounded his arrival.

Mediocre performances and a general struggle to establish a distinguishable identity within Liverpool’s midfield have seen his reputation diminish this season, but Klopp’s latest comments on his development suggest more experience at this level will enable him to discover his best form, as per The Times.

“We will probably see a couple of bad halves from Naby in the future, that’s completely normal. But it was clear the whole week the second half was really important to him.

“There is still a lot to come because he is still adapting. Sometimes it takes longer. People lose patience. That’s normal, but we don’t.”

Can Keita follow Oxlade-Chamberlain’s footsteps?

The Guinea international may well take some confidence from Oxlade-Chamberlain’s start to life at Anfield. Initially, the former Arsenal man looked out of sorts and struggled to adapt to his new surroundings.

Supporters questioned the club’s decision, but the England’s international form took an unexpected turn just at the moment in which supporters were beginning to lose faith. Oxlade-Chamberlain established himself as a key player in Liverpool’s midfield and shifted popular opinion while thriving in a box-to-box midfield role.

It must be considered that, unlike Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain already had plenty of Premier League experience and he still struggled within the early stages of his Liverpool career.

With that in mind, it’s fair to say that the former RB Leipzig man’s form should be taken with a pinch of salt, and Klopp’s recent comments suggest that he expects him to blossom as his career develops at Anfield.

Supporters may well be underwhelmed by Keita’s progress at Liverpool so far but Klopp’s willingness to be patient and trust in the summer recruit could eventually facilitate a similar rise in prominence to the one Oxlade-Chamberlain has enjoyed during his time on Merseyside.

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Loads of Arsenal fans have been reacting to a huge development on the future of Nicolas Pepe, as his manager said the 16-goal winger will play in red next season.

Arsenal fans are desperate for some proper investment, as Unai Emery has been forced to make ends meet with mostly sub-par signings so far.

The manager brought in five new faces last summer before adding Denis Suarez in January, but of course the Spaniard is only at the club on loan.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

With Suarez barely making an impact (and due to leave this summer) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan enduring a pretty miserable first 12 months in North London, the Gunners could well sign a winger this summer, and Pepe has been heavily linked.

Now, the winger’s manager at Lille, Christophe Galtier, has heaped even more fuel on the fire by dropping a cheeky hint at his press conference this week.

As reported by GFFN, Galtier said: “He has to go to a club in the Champions League. In my view, he does not need an intermediary step to go to the highest possible level.

“I could see him playing for a team who plays in red that likes having wide players playing on the wing of their weaker foot.”

The Gunners do not look likely to make the Champions League this campaign, but that will certainly be their goal next season, and fans are hoping Pepe will be there to help them achieve it.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

علق مسعد عوض حارس مرمى أسوان على فوز فريقه أمام الزمالك في المبارة التي أقيمت اليوم ببطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وانتصر أسوان على الزمالك بهدفٍ وحيد في الجولة 28 من الدوري المصري، على أرضية استاد القاهرة الدولي.

وقال مسعد عوض خلال لقاء معه عبر قناة “أون تايم سبورت”: “هدفنا كان الفوز لنصحح مركزنا، والحمد لله على الفوز على الزمالك و3 نقاط غالية في توقيت صعب”.

وأضاف: “دوري وواجب عليّ أن أوجه زملائي وأحمد كشري (المدير الفني) يثق بي، أسوان فريق جيد ولاعبيه كبار بأقل إمكانيات ويستحقون أكثر من ذلك والجميع رأى ذلك بعينه وإن شاء الله نحسم البقاء مبكرا”.

طالع | أحمد كشري لـ بطولات: قميص كارتيرون؟ هو من يقلدني.. وسأرتديه في كل المباريات

وواصل: “نأخذ كل مباراة على حدة و9 النقاط السابقين حسنوا مركزنا لأن النقطة تفرق بالتأكيد، وأتمنى أن نظل على نفس المستوى”.

وعندما سُئل عن تواصل بعض مشجعي النادي الأهلي معه قبل المباراة رد مختتمًا: “الأهلي لا يحتاج فريق آخر يتسبب في حسم الدوري له، هو بطبيعة الحال كان سيفوز بالبطولة”.

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Nottingham Forest are currently a club on a high having beaten bitter rivals Derby County by a 1-0 scoreline at the City Ground on Monday. Martin O’Neill must quickly refocus his side though as they face a tough test against Stoke City on Saturday.

In order to gain a positive result against the Potters, the Reds must stick to an effective gameplan and reproduce the levels of commitment and discipline that they displayed against the Rams.

On the chalkboard

Having been relegated from the Premier League last season, Stoke will have expected to compete for promotion from the Championship this time around. Things have not gone to plan for the club though, who currently find themselves in the bottom half of the second tier.

Who do you want to see promoted this year? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have picked their 3 favoured teams in the video below…

However, Forest cannot afford to underestimate Nathan Jones’ side who still possess a lot of attacking quality. What’s more, defeat for Forest could seriously harm their hopes of reaching the play-offs.

In order to get a positive result, O’Neill must seek to replicate the most positive aspects of his side’s performance against Derby.

Playing to their strengths

On Monday, Forest were incredibly diligent. They were well-organised and compact throughout. They also demonstrated an admirable work rate to ensure that Frank Lampard’s side were never allowed to become too comfortable in possession.

Forest also used their key men well. Play was effectively and consistently channeled through Joe Lolley who has the quality to hurt the opposition in the final third. They also played to their physical and aerial strengths – it was unsurprising, therefore, that Yohan Benalouane’s match-winning goal came from a set piece. 

If Forest are able to shine in these all-important areas again on Saturday then they’re likely to return from the bet365 stadium with all three points in tow.

قضت لجنة الانضباط في الدوري الفرنسي بفرض عقوبة على الأرجنتيني آنخيل دي ماريا، على خلفية أحداث مباراة باريس سان جيرمان ومارسيليا.

وشهدت مباراة باريس سان جيرمان ومارسيليا اشتباكات بين لاعبي الفريقين، وتحديدًا ثنائي الفريق الباريسي، نيمار دا سيلفا ودي ماريا، مع ألفارو جونزاليس، مدافع مارسيليا.

وفرضت اللجنة عقوبة الإيقاف لأربعة مباريات على دي ماريا، لبصقه على مدافع مارسيليا.

وتعتبر اللجنة تصرف دي ماريا غير مقبول على أرض الملعب، ولم يتم معاقبة الأرجنتيني من قبل الحكم أو حكم الفيديو المساعد.

اقرأ أيضًا.. من ضحية إلى جاني.. نيمار وجه ألفاظًا عنصرية لمدافع مارسيليا

وطبقت اللجنة المادة 12 من مقياسها التأديبي، والتي تنص على الإيقاف إلى ما يصل إلى ست مباريات لهذه السلوكيات، ومع ذلك، فقد تم مسامحة دي ماريا جزئيًا بسبب سلوك ألفارو السابق.

وسيتم الحكم على ألفارو ونيمار، يوم 30 من شهر سبتمبر الجاري، بسبب الإهانات العنصرية المزعومة من كلا الطرفين.

دي ماريا سيغيب عن مباريات الدوري الأربع التالية لباريس سان جيرمان، أمام أنجيه ونيم وديجون ونانت.

Manchester United’s Champions League hopes were dented after Paris St Germain ran out 2-0 winners at Old Trafford.

The hotly contested encounter was dominated by the French champions for large portions of the game but it took until the second half for the deadlock to be broken. Presnel Kimpembe opened the scoring with his first ever PSG goal before Kylian Mbappe added to the scoreline not long after. United now have a mountain to climb in Paris to have any hope of reaching the quarter-final stage.

While their form under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has been terrific, the defeat was a reality check for the Red Devils. PSG looked a different class and United must do all they can to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League to attract the best calibre of players to Old Trafford in the summer. Should Solksjaer be given the job permanently, he could look to Ligue 1 for his next recruit.

One man the Norwegian should target is Lyon dynamo – Tanguy Ndombele. Valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, the Frenchman joined his club on loan last season but impressed greatly meaning Lyon made the switch permanent. Ndombele’s excellent form has continued into the current campaign which should make the United scouting team take notice.

The 22-year-old is one of France’s most complete midfielders, effortlessly combining defence and attack. Ndombele offers the defence a valuable layer of protection, averaging two tackles per game this season, which United are currently in desperate need of. The Frenchman also has the quality on the ball to influence the attack, averaging 1.1 key passes and 1.6 successful dribbles per game in Ligue 1 (WhoScored).

It would take a mammoth fee to lure him from France, but United are one of the few clubs capable of paying such a price.

Manchester United fans, thoughts?

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Everton fell to their third successive Premier League defeat on Saturday as they lost 1-0 to Watford at Vicarage Road. A second half strike from Andre Gray was enough to secure the three points for the Hornets. 

In a hostile atmosphere, as the home crowd took aim at their club’s former manager and the Toffees’ current boss Marco Silva, the Merseyside outfit wilted. Everton deserved to lose and look like a side pretty bereft of confidence right now.

The fact that Kurt Zouma was shown a red card after the final whistle only served to compound Silva’s misery. 

The pressure has now been heaped onto the Portuguese coach and he’s probably running out of time to turn around his side’s fortunes. Everton fans are certainly beginning to lose patience with him.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

After the final whistle on Saturday, plenty of the Everton faithful took to Twitter to plead for Silva’s reign at Goodison Park to be brought to a swift end.

Chelsea gave their chances of finishing in the top four a huge boost over the weekend after they beat west London rivals Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.

The Blues now sit just two points below fourth-placed Manchester United with a game in hand thanks to the goalscorers on the day Gonzalo Higuain and match-winner Jorginho.

The duo performed well overall and the connection they shared on the Craven Cottage pitch was a very promising sign for Maurizio Sarri’s side.

Like during their time together at Napoli, Jorginho created some golden opportunities for Higuain with the Chelsea No.9 unlucky to walk away from the derby with just a sole goal to his name.

Nevertheless, in Higuain, Sarri and Chelsea look to have the centre-forward they have been lacking for the majority of the campaign. And if Jorginho can continue to pick him out like how he did at Craven Cottage, then the goals should start flowing.

The balls the Brazilian-born Italy international was playing into his team-mate were reminiscent of the ones Cesc Fabregas often gave Diego Costa when the two were both Chelsea players.

A partnership half as good as that between Jorginho and Higuain, and Sarri could be onto something special.